On Saturday it is three months since MH370 vanished. It is becoming just a historical footnote as the search efforts are gradually wound-down. Still nothing – not a scrap – has been found and the mystery continues. And now Australia – as the lead country – is going to outsource the search. But they are clearly not expecting anything to be found; “The intensified search will begin in August 2014 and is expected to take up to 12 months, depending on weather conditions”.
Any theory which cannot be disproved, no matter how implausible – remains possible. But I have seen nothing to shift from my view that the plane was deliberately destroyed and “disappeared”.
In the tender documents the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) calls for a search area which will be around 60,000 sq. km and the contractor has to submit plans for searching 5,000 sq. km every 25 days.
The ATSB has issued a press release:
Engaged as a prime contractor, the company will provide the expertise, equipment and vessel(s) necessary to undertake an intensified underwater search for the missing Boeing 777 aircraft in the defined zone in the southern Indian Ocean.
While the precise search zone is currently being established by an international search strategy working group, it is expected that the successful tenderer will search an area up to 60,000 square kilometres based on the ‘seventh handshake’ arc where the aircraft last communicated with the Inmarsat satellite. Definition of the search zone will be finalised within two to three weeks.
The successful tenderer will localise, positively identify and map the debris field of MH370 using specialist equipment such as towed and autonomous underwater vehicles with mounted sonar and/or optical imaging systems.
The intensified search will begin in August 2014 and is expected to take up to 12 months, depending on weather conditions. The successful tenderer will use the data from a bathymetric survey (already underway) to navigate the search zone, which has water depth between 1000 and 6000 metres.
The search vessel(s) used by the prime contractor may also be coordinated with other vessels also undertaking search activities in the search zone on behalf of other countries. ……..
At the request of the Malaysian Government, the ATSB is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
This request for tender has now appeared for tenders to be submitted by the end of June.
On 8 March 2014, a Boeing 777 aircraft, operated as Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers, disappeared during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Through the analysis of available satellite, radar and other data, it has been determined that MH370 is likely to be in the southern Indian Ocean within Australia’s search and rescue zone.
In accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Malaysia, as the State of registry for the aircraft, is the State conducting the investigation into the occurence involving the disappearance of MH370. In accordance with the provisions of Annex 13, Australia as the State closest to the likley location of MH370, has offered its continuing assistance.
It has been decided between Malaysia and Australia, that Australia will lead the search for MH370. This arrangement includes Australia contracting the commercial services required to undertake the search operation.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is the Australian agency responsible for the seafloor search. The ATSB is seeking to contract services to:
- search for and locate MH370 within a defined search area on the seafloor; and
- if located, map and obtain optical imaging of MH370.
Tags: MH370
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